Adam Apple (November 27, 1831April 19, 1905) was a

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

born immigrant to the United States who was a farmer, carpenter, and politician. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, he served four years in the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those o ...

and seven years in the State Assembly representing Racine County.

Biography

Apple was born in the

Palatinate Region The Palatinate (; ; Palatine German: ''Palz''), or the Rhenish Palatinate (''Rheinpfalz''), is a historical region of Germany. The Palatinate occupies most of the southern quarter of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate (''Rheinla ...

in the

. He was the eldest of five sons born to Adam and Barbara Beecher Apple. He was raised and worked on his father's farm and was educated in German common schools until age 17, when he set out on his own to

emigrate Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He traveled to

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, in what was then part of the

United Kingdom of the Netherlands The United Kingdom of the Netherlands is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed from 1815 to 1839. The United Netherlands was created in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars through the fusion of territories t ...

, and sailed from there to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, finally settling in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, where he worked as an apprentice

cabinetmaker A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (solid ...

. At the end of his three-year apprenticeship, rather than continuing in that vocation, he set out west to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, following the call of the

Gold Rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, ...

. After three years mining gold, he returned to Philadelphia, intent on investing his earnings and returning to his cabinetry. Within a year, however, Apple was again drawn to the west and this time moved to the new state of

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. He settled in the town of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, in Racine County, and purchased 120 acres of land. He worked at cultivating the land but soon purchased additional acres, bringing his total estate to nearly 340 acres within a few years. He became renowned in local farming for his

cultivation of tobacco The cultivation of tobacco usually takes place annually. The tobacco is germinated in cold frames or hotbeds and then transplanted to the field until it matures. It is grown in warm climates with rich, well-drained soil. About 4.2 million ...

. Apple was a life-long member of the Democratic Party, since his early years in the United States, having cast his first vote for

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. A northern Democratic Party (United States), Democrat who believed that the Abolitionism in the United States, abolitio ...

in 1852. He was elected chairman of the Norway Town Board in the 1870s and served in that role for eight years, and was clerk of the local school board for eighteen years. In 1881 he was elected to the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

for Racine County's rural 2nd assembly district, earning re-election in 1882, 1884, and 1886. An 1887

redistricting Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each ten-year census. The U.S. Constitution in Art ...

act reduced the county of Racine from two assembly districts to one, thus eliminating Apple's seat. Apple ran instead, in 1890, for the

in the district encompassing Racine and

Kenosha Kenosha () is a city in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is the fourth-most populous city in Wisconsin, with a population of 99,986 at the 2020 census. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Ke ...

counties, winning a narrow victory in a part of the state that—at the time—generally provided a Republican majority. Apple worked on his farm until age 70, when he began leasing the land to his sons, Charles and Harry. He removed to the neighboring community of North Cape, where he remained until his death in 1905. Apple had been in declining health for several months and underwent an operation in Milwaukee in the weeks before his death.

Personal life and family

Adam Apple married Dorothea (Dorothy) Eckel in 1856. Dorothy was also a German American immigrant who had been brought to the United States by her parents at age 7. They had eight children together—four sons and four daughters: * Ellen C. (Ella), who married Charles Blakey of Estherville, Iowa, * Adam Jr., who died at age 28, * Josephine, who married Daniel M. Clump of Monmouth, Iowa, * Anna (Annie), a teacher in Mitchellville, Iowa, * Andrew J., living in Chicago, * Charles E. and Harold (Harry), who remained in Norway and took over their father's farms, * and Florence (Flora), the twin of Harry Apple was a devoted

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

, a Mason, and a member of the

Independent Order of Odd Fellows The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) is a non-political, non-sectarian international fraternal order of Odd Fellowship. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Wildey in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Evolving from the Odd Fellows, Order ...

Electoral history

Wisconsin Senate (1890)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 4, 1890

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Apple, Adam 1831 births 1905 deaths Bavarian emigrants to the United States Politicians from the Rhine Province People from Norway, Wisconsin People of the California Gold Rush Farmers from Wisconsin School board members in Wisconsin Mayors of places in Wisconsin Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature